Breakout Beyers: Hejazi’s performance starts to catch up to lofty price tag

Each week in this space, the top Beyer performances by maiden winners will be featured and analyzed. Click here for a complete archive.

Hejazi

Jan. 15, 1st race Santa Anita, MdSpWt68k
Beyer: 97
6 1/2 furlongs 1:14.58 – 1st by 1 1/2 lengths
b. c. 3, Bernardini – G Note, by Medaglia d’Oro
Auctions: Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training 2022 - $3,550,000
Owner: Zedan Racing
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Breeder: Chester Broman and Mary R. Broman

Last seen finishing a distant third at odds of 5-2 while trying two turns for the first time Oct. 8 in the Grade 1 American Pharoah, Hejazi, the most expensive horses ever sold at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-old auction, became a fourth-start maiden winner here. Bob Baffert, who also sent out runner-up Worcester in this maiden sprint, rarely misses with touted 2-year-old first-timers, but Hejazi this past summer at Del Mar was second by 2 1/2 lengths debuting as a 2-5 favorite. Second out, he ran into Baffert buzzsaw Speed Boat Beach, who ran as fast as an older stakes-class sprinter winning a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race over Hejzai. And it remains to be seen if Hejazi’s American Pharoah, where he had no stretch punch after a wide pace-stalking trip over 1 1/16 miles, is instructive regarding his preferred distance. Coming back from a freshening, Hejazi was cut back to an extended sprint, racing for the first time on Lasix, and was a more dominant winner than the bare margin of victory. The official chart says he broke a step slow, but I’d say it was more a hesitant start from post 1. Hejazi and/or Mike Smith wanted no part of the fence through the chute and onto the main track as the colt hit high gear and made the lead while traveling at a strong pace. Smith stayed busy on Hejazi, not in any demonstrative way, but he kept up steady hand motion on the reins, as though Hejazi still needs to be niggled along to keep his head in the game. The colt races without blinkers and seems to look around some, but his raw talent easily proved sufficient. While Worcester came under heavy pressure in upper stretch and felt the crop while mildly gaining on the winner, Hejazi put away his pace rival, went clear, and had one final little burst at the sixteenth pole to put Worcester entirely to bed, all while Smith never cocked his stick or offered more than tepid encouragement. Hejazi’s very good – let’s see where it goes from here.

Shopper’s Revenge

Jan. 14, 10th race Oaklawn, MdSpWt90k
Beyer: 85
1 1/16 miles 1:45.07 – 1st by 5 1/4 lengths
gr. c. 3, Tapit – Stopchargingmaria, by Tale of the Cat
Auctions: Keeneland September yearling 2021 - $275,000 (RNA)
Owner: Three Chimneys Farm and Whisper Hill Farm
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Breeder: Whisper Hill Farm and Three Chimneys Farm

Second start, first route, first Lasix, and a dominant front-running victory from Shopper’s Revenge, third foal to race out of the multiple Grade 1-winning dirt-route mare Stopchargingmaria. Shopper’s Revenge had been a distant second going seven furlongs at Churchill behind Determinedly, third as the heavy favorite Dec. 26 in the Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds, and after failing to show much early speed in his debut, he was somewhat slow away from an inside draw facing a full complement of route rivals. The colt made that moot with an assist from jockey Ricardo Santana, who slalomed his willing partner coolly between rivals to make a clear lead before the first turn. Santana then was able to slow the pace, Shopper’s Revenge rating kindly enough, and the colt still held a clear lead when the rider put his mount to pressure at the top of the homestretch. Shopper’s Revenge drifted outside and off his true line, but hardly radically, while dashing away from his closest pursuer, race favorite Rocket and Roll. The Beyer came back good, not great, but this rated among the better maiden route performances at this Oaklawn meet.

Ziaerati

Jan. 15 Aqueduct, 5th race, MdSpWt80k
Beyer: 83
7 furlongs 1:26.82 – 1st by 8 1/4 lengths
b. f. 3, Into Mischief – Zia, by Munnings
Auctions: Keeneland September yearling 2021 -- $100,000; OBS March 2022 -- $145,000
Owner: John Grossi’s Racing Group and Robert Falcone Jr.
Trainer: Robert Falcone Jr.
Breeder: Whitehorse Stable

A “go to the lead and increase your advantage” trip for this first-time-starting filly, who must have one of the most dramatically white faces among all bay Thoroughbreds in North America. The Aqueduct track, as happens during winter, played like a plowed field, with raw times rendered all but meaningless if considered with standards parameters. That’s where the Beyer comes in, reflecting the speed of the track, and it was a very good one within the context of this 3-year-old filly crop. Ziaerati went clear and easily led while in hand, and also finished well in hand after burying everyone behind her in upper stretch. Her dam was a sprinter and her lone sibling with much of a race record (low-level claimer Bel Bimbo) is a sprinter, so the fact the filly herself has the look of a sprinter might well mean something. Sharp debut, regardless.